Housecleaner ruined hardwood floor

[gwynne]

She has insurance, so I guess anything she would need to pay from comes from that. I was just wondering if it would be her responsibility or not. Sometimes I feel like an accident is and accident and I should not ask her to pay for it. But this is a BIG mistake and it could cost thousands if the floor needs to be replaced. It is not a $40.00 candlestick she accidentally broke. But we are going to hope for the best and get someone in to take a look at it that is a professional. If it can be cleaned, then she has agreed to put the time in to make it right, and for free (which I would expect). Just strange - she normally uses vinegar and water and it and the floor looks great. This time she tried something new because she used it on someone else's floor and they loved it. She did it to try and please us so I am not at all angry with her. I just want my pretty floor back!

The insurance-is it some sort of business liability insurance? In that case, you'd be making a claim against your employee. I don't know how much information about you the insurance would need-would they need to verify you are an actual (legal) employer? And you very well may be, but that might be an issue for some folks hiring housecleaners.

Anyway, I'd want to make sure I understood all the pluses and potential minuses of a situation like this before I started the claim process. It might get sticky fast.

 

[leebee]

Sorry to hear about this, OP. I hope your floors are restored to their original condition.

I just wanted to say... Our family room has either engineered or laminate wood floors; I'm not sure which. However, when we had a pipe burst with subsequent flooding, the contractor looked at our ruined floor and said the top layer was thick enough to sand, so that's what they did. The sanded, re-stained, refinished flooring looks fine. Maybe you'll get lucky, too!

 

[Hrhpd]

Are you kidding me? We assign blame based on income and not on wrongdoing? Did the homeowner mess up the floors? NO. The cleaner did. Therefore, she should be responsible.

Personally, I blame the homeowner if she did not provide the cleaning supplies she wanted on her floors.

I have real hardwood throughout my house. My installer was very good at explaining how they should be cared for and very adamant on what was and what was not safe for the floors and finish. Therefore, I provide my cleaning lady with the proper cleaning agents that the installer recommended (which was Bona cleaner) and instructed her on how to care for the floors and with the express instructions that nothing else is to be used on the floors. I have a bin with my preferred cleaning supplies that I leave on the island each week for the cleaning lady.

If, after the correct products were provided and training was provided, the cleaning lady used her own products and did not follow instructions, then I would hold her to blame. However, if she was never instructed what products were safe for use on the engineered floors nor provided with care instructions, then it is on the homeowner.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

It sounds as if you have a good plan and are doing all you can to get this problem solved. I wish you the best of luck! I have a feeling a lot of us on the disboards are thinking of you and hoping for the best.

 

[Bec3b1g]

I feel for you. My old cleaner used a product on my dining room table that took the finish off. Expensive lesson learned, unfortunately. I did a very thorough walk through with my new cleaner and reviewed every product she would use on every surface of the house. I also made sure the new cleaner was licensed and bonded.

 

[Hrhpd]

Just to be clear-She is FAR from low-income. She drives a very nice car and wears very nice clothes. Not that it matters, but please don't make it seem like I am trying to rob the poor.
She just stopped over and is going to try and get it clean. If she can't, I guess we will figure out what to do after that.

You can get very nice clothes at the thrift shop and you can get a nice car used and keep it up meticulously. I would never judge a person by their personal possessions, either rich or poor. My son's friend got a great deal on a used Beemer. It was a bit run down, but his uncle is a mechanic and helped him fix it up. It is an older model, but most people wouldn't know that, they would just see the BMW logo. Doesn't mean he is well off, he is a poor college student.

 

[declansdad]

They are engineered hardwood - so they are hardwood. They are not pergo and laminate flooring, they are engineered hardwood, meaning they have a thin surface of hardwood on top and cannot be sanded down.

If your floor has a minimum of 2 mm layer, you can sand then down 1 or 2 times.

 

[Hrhpd]

Why would it be wrong to hold a business person responsible for damage she caused??? She needs to be held responsible & either correct the problmem or compensate the OP. If I take my car in for routine service & the shop totally damages the car in the process, would it be wrong to expect them to fix it or pay for the damage? Of course not! Why is this any different??

But would you take your brand new, expensive car to some unknown car mechanic without checking to see if they use the proper parts for your new expensive car? Of course not. You would make sure you went to a mechanic that used the proper parts for your model of car. Same for the homeowner. It doesn't sound like the homeowner made the housecleaner aware or provided the proper cleaning agents for her particular model of new floors.

If I recall correctly from what our installer told us, cleaners that are safe on hardwood floors are not necessarily safe on engineered floors and vice versa due to the different construction methods.

 

[Julylady]

This is my worst nightmare. I also had engineered hardwood floors installed about 18 months ago. The installer provided a Boma mop and a bottle of cleaning product and told me to never use anything but that on the floors. So far, they look great! I hired a house cleaner in September and to date have told her "Don't touch the floors. I will do them myself." However, it takes me over an hour to clean them. I was thinking of having her do the floors on her next visit, but now this thread has scared me.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Why would you need the floor replaced? Just get it refinished. My son spilled a gallon of bleach on ours & after refinishing, it looks brand new.

 

[mnrose]

If your floor has a minimum of 2 mm layer, you can sand then down 1 or 2 times.

They "say" that but trying to find a professional who is willing to touch these floors is VERY hard. I know because we had engineered hardwoods once (NEVER again), and we were assured they *could* be refinished, but we never did find anyone willing to try. There is ZERO room for error when you have those type of floors. Some of the scratches (predated our ownership) were deep enough that the professionals all said "nope" when we asked them to do it. At any price. They wouldn't even give us a bid!

 

[mnrose]

Why would you need the floor replaced? Just get it refinished. My son spilled a gallon of bleach on ours & after refinishing, it looks brand new.

They are not real hardwood, but engineered hardwood (which is a relatively thin layer of veneer over another wood product). Very different than "solid" hardwood floors. It is much cheaper upfront, for a reason.

 

[dclpluto]

Personally, I blame the homeowner if she did not provide the cleaning supplies she wanted on her floors.

I have real hardwood throughout my house. My installer was very good at explaining how they should be cared for and very adamant on what was and what was not safe for the floors and finish. Therefore, I provide my cleaning lady with the proper cleaning agents that the installer recommended (which was Bona cleaner) and instructed her on how to care for the floors and with the express instructions that nothing else is to be used on the floors. I have a bin with my preferred cleaning supplies that I leave on the island each week for the cleaning lady.

If, after the correct products were provided and training was provided, the cleaning lady used her own products and did not follow instructions, then I would hold her to blame. However, if she was never instructed what products were safe for use on the engineered floors nor provided with care instructions, then it is on the homeowner.

Exactly. The home owner should of supplied the materials

 

[Tiggeroo]

Exactly. The home owner should of supplied the materials

Yes. When a homeowner needs specific cleaning products they supply them. This could have happened the first time she cleaned it without knowing what to use.

 

[Pugsley]

I once had a cleaning lady use an abrasive pad to clean my stainless steel refrigerator and it was ruined. Was it my fault that I didn't tell her not to do that, or that I didn't tell her exactly which cloth she should use? I assume that since they are professionals they know a lot more about cleaning and cleaning products than I do. If I was told by a manufacturer that a certain product needed to be used I would tell them and provide the product. But in general I think you should be able to trust professional cleaning people to use appropriate products.

 

[kamik86]

I once had a cleaning lady use an abrasive pad to clean my stainless steel refrigerator and it was ruined. Was it my fault that I didn't tell her not to do that, or that I didn't tell her exactly which cloth she should use? I assume that since they are professionals they know a lot more about cleaning and cleaning products than I do. If I was told by a manufacturer that a certain product needed to be used I would tell them and provide the product. But in general I think you should be able to trust professional cleaning people to use appropriate products.

This was my thought.

If I hired a painter I would assume he would know what he needed to do to treat my walls. If I hired an electrician he would know what tools he needs to show up with for my house.

So why if I hired a cleaner should I not expect that they could handle cleaning something as common as hard wood floors?

 

[Tiggeroo]

This was my thought.

If I hired a painter I would assume he would know what he needed to do to treat my walls. If I hired an electrician he would know what tools he needs to show up with for my house.

So why if I hired a cleaner should I not expect that they could handle cleaning something as common as hard wood floors?

Because not all hardwood floors are the same. You need to at least discuss what they are made of and what the manufacturer recommends, esp if they add fairly new. I have asked homeowners what they want done with hardwood, stainless and granite. Pretty much they all say they don't care and that they never really think about what they use. I have a homeowner who has a steam cleaner Coe her hardwood floors and I read on here recently that you can't use them on laminate floors. I never knew. I generally use a mild, chemical free cleaner or vinegar and water but that has more to do with my desire to avoid chemicals.

 

[gwynne]

I once had a cleaning lady use an abrasive pad to clean my stainless steel refrigerator and it was ruined. Was it my fault that I didn't tell her not to do that, or that I didn't tell her exactly which cloth she should use? I assume that since they are professionals they know a lot more about cleaning and cleaning products than I do. If I was told by a manufacturer that a certain product needed to be used I would tell them and provide the product. But in general I think you should be able to trust professional cleaning people to use appropriate products.

This was my thought.

If I hired a painter I would assume he would know what he needed to do to treat my walls. If I hired an electrician he would know what tools he needs to show up with for my house.

So why if I hired a cleaner should I not expect that they could handle cleaning something as common as hard wood floors?

JMO, Taking my car to the Ford dealership, or hiring an electrician is very different than hiring a cleaner. I would never just "trust" they would intuitively know and understand all the surfaces in my home.
I always supply any and all cleaning supplies when I have a cleaner. I make sure I've tested the products, and I'm happy with the result.

Many products are promoted as hardwood flooring. They vary in how they are made, and they also vary in quality. The lower the quality, the harder they are to maintain and the easier they are to damage. That can come from wear and tear as well as "cleaning" products that actually damage them.

Real hardwood floors are easier to care for, but are far more expensive. In the end the homeowner has to deal with any problems, so it's worth being very careful to make sure the cleaner understands what to use on each surface. That's especially important on things like granite, stainless and flooring.

 

[kamik86]

Because not all hardwood floors are the same. You need to at least discuss what they are made of and what the manufacturer recommends, esp if they add fairly new. I have asked homeowners what they want done with hardwood, stainless and granite. Pretty much they all say they don't care and that they never really think about what they use. I have a homeowner who has a steam cleaner Coe her hardwood floors and I read on here recently that you can't use them on laminate floors. I never knew. I generally use a mild, chemical free cleaner or vinegar and water but that has more to do with my desire to avoid chemicals.

Not all electrical wiring, plumbing, or wall construction is the same either... yet other professionals are expected to meet these standards.

Many products are promoted as hardwood flooring. They vary in how they are made, and they also vary in quality. The lower the quality, the harder they are to maintain and the easier they are to damage. That can come from wear and tear as well as "cleaning" products that actually damage them.

Real hardwood floors are easier to care for, but are far more expensive. In the end the homeowner has to deal with any problems, so it's worth being very careful to make sure the cleaner understands what to use on each surface. That's especially important on things like granite, stainless and flooring.

Again this is tue for paint, and electrical work and anything else. There is always varying quality in the products someone who is providing a service could use. The homeowner always has to live with the result.

So what is so special about cleaners that they get a pass where it is unethical to hold them responsible?

 

[gwynne]

Again this is tue for paint, and electrical work and anything else. There is always varying quality in the products someone who is providing a service could use. The homeowner always has to live with the result.

So what is so special about cleaners that they get a pass where it is unethical to hold them responsible?

Since that's my quote, I'll answer.
I like having a pleasant, trusting relationship with anyone I regularly have in my home. I realize that homes vary in age and in surfaces. It's not much effort for me at all to supply products and make sure the cleaner knows the plan for my home.
Give them a pass for holding them responsible? Gosh, that's just not my style. I see as a team effort to get a good result.